Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars

The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Legal History, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir, Political
Cover of the book Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars by G. Edward White, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: G. Edward White ISBN: 9780190288419
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: March 11, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: G. Edward White
ISBN: 9780190288419
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: March 11, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

For decades, a great number of Americans saw Alger Hiss as an innocent victim of McCarthyism--a distinguished diplomat railroaded by an ambitious Richard Nixon. And even as the case against Hiss grew over time, his dignified demeanor helped create an aura of innocence that outshone the facts in many minds. Now G. Edward White deftly draws together the countless details of Hiss's life--from his upper middle-class childhood in Baltimore and his brilliant success at Harvard to his later career as a self-made martyr to McCarthyism--to paint a fascinating portrait of a man whose life was devoted to perpetuating a lie. White catalogs the evidence that proved Hiss's guilt, from Whittaker Chambers's famous testimony, to copies of State Department documents typed on Hiss's typewriter, to Allen Weinstein's groundbreaking investigation in the 1970s. The author then explores the central conundrums of Hiss's life: Why did this talented lawyer become a Communist and a Soviet spy? Why did he devote so much of his life to an extensive public campaign to deny his espionage? And how, without producing any new evidence, did he convince many people that he was innocent? White offers a compelling analysis of Hiss's behavior in the face of growing evidence of his guilt, revealing how this behavior fit into an ongoing pattern of denial and duplicity in his life. The story of Alger Hiss is in part a reflection of Cold War America--a time of ideological passions, partisan battles, and secret lives. It is also a story that transcends a particular historical era--a story about individuals who choose to engage in espionage for foreign powers and the secret worlds they choose to conceal. In White's skilled hands, the life of Alger Hiss comes to illuminate both of those themes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For decades, a great number of Americans saw Alger Hiss as an innocent victim of McCarthyism--a distinguished diplomat railroaded by an ambitious Richard Nixon. And even as the case against Hiss grew over time, his dignified demeanor helped create an aura of innocence that outshone the facts in many minds. Now G. Edward White deftly draws together the countless details of Hiss's life--from his upper middle-class childhood in Baltimore and his brilliant success at Harvard to his later career as a self-made martyr to McCarthyism--to paint a fascinating portrait of a man whose life was devoted to perpetuating a lie. White catalogs the evidence that proved Hiss's guilt, from Whittaker Chambers's famous testimony, to copies of State Department documents typed on Hiss's typewriter, to Allen Weinstein's groundbreaking investigation in the 1970s. The author then explores the central conundrums of Hiss's life: Why did this talented lawyer become a Communist and a Soviet spy? Why did he devote so much of his life to an extensive public campaign to deny his espionage? And how, without producing any new evidence, did he convince many people that he was innocent? White offers a compelling analysis of Hiss's behavior in the face of growing evidence of his guilt, revealing how this behavior fit into an ongoing pattern of denial and duplicity in his life. The story of Alger Hiss is in part a reflection of Cold War America--a time of ideological passions, partisan battles, and secret lives. It is also a story that transcends a particular historical era--a story about individuals who choose to engage in espionage for foreign powers and the secret worlds they choose to conceal. In White's skilled hands, the life of Alger Hiss comes to illuminate both of those themes.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Back in the Game by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Oxford American Handbook of Critical Care by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Stories of Sickness by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Moving Pictures, Still Lives by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Muslim Civil Society and the Politics of Religious Freedom in Turkey by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Audio Production Principles by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Taxing the Church by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Electrodiagnosis in Diseases of Nerve and Muscle by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Family Money by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Being and Motion by G. Edward White
Cover of the book A Most Holy War by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Brain, Body, and Mind by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Erikson on Development in Adulthood by G. Edward White
Cover of the book The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Becoming a Word Learner by G. Edward White
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy